The edited manuscript of DP landed in my mailbox by email attachment yesterday, and I went straight to work on it. Managed to finish only chapter one, but I did make notes for chapter two which I will tackle soon.
I actually need to add quite a bit to this manuscript at the same time I’m going through the edits (which are slight, thankfully). I think it’s very hard to add to a book once it is done. That’s probably why I add and change and revise during my first draft — because I don’t “layer” well later. I struggle with it. Then there are all the threads that I have to make sure I connect (i.e. if I add here, remember to remove something else there). Groan! If there wasn’t a tight turnaround, it would be easier.
All that moaning and groaning aside, I can recall several books where something I added during the revising/editing process turned out to be what readers commented on the most as something they loved. That helps as a reminder that I can do this and I can do it well, even under the gun.
As a side note, I am not a fan of Microsoft Word. I much prefer WordPerfect. But I am a fan of Word’s Track Changes, and I’m so glad that all but one of the editors/publishing houses I work with use that wonderful feature. WordPerfect has a similar function, but it isn’t quite as friendly, IMHO, as Track Changes. So for the next week, I’ll have Word open on my computer instead of WordPerfect.
Off to the salt mines,
Robin
